Abdullah rejects Afghan presidential election results

The losing candidate of Afghanistan’s presidential election alleged fraud on Tuesday and rejected the official results of the June 14 second-round vote.

The Election Commission on Monday declared Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai the winner, with 56.4 per cent to Mr. Abdullah’s 43.5 per cent.

“I reject the results of the fraud, I condemn the results of the fraud,” Mr. Abdullah told a rally of supporters.

“I am the winner of the clean votes of Afghan people in the two rounds of the elections.” He accused the government, electoral authorities and Mr. Ghani’s camp of being a “triangle of fraud.” “The people of Afghanistan are putting pressure on me to announce their elected government,” he said.

“I cannot ignore your calls,” he told supporters in the Loya Jirga grand hall in Kabul, “but please give me a few days.” The crowd chanted “no, we want you to immediately announce your government.” One of them put his coat on Mr. Abdullah’s shoulders, another put a hat on his head and others showered him with rose petals as their new President.

Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned against any attempts to form a parallel government.

“I have noted reports of protests in Afghanistan and of suggestions of a parallel government with the gravest concern,” he said.

“There is no justifiable recourse to violence or threat of violence, or to extra-constitutional measures or threats of the same,” he said.

Mr. Abdullah said that Mr. Kerry would meet him on Friday to discuss the electoral crisis.

President Hamid Karzai welcomed the results as the result of a successful poll, but underlined that they were only preliminary.

“The winner will be declared when the final results are announced after the complaints assessment and separating the valid votes from the non valid ones,” he said.

The final results are due on July 22, and the new President will be sworn in on August 2.

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